Positive People in Pinecrest: Dylan d’Adesky

Dylan d’Adesky, a senior at Westminster Christian School, can really kick. His power and accuracy have brought him great success in two varsity sports — football and soccer.

D’Adesky has been on the Westminster varsity soccer team each year since the end of eighth grade and this year he is serving as team captain. As a mid-fielder during his junior year, he made third-team All-Dade soccer and was instrumental in helping his team advance to the regional play-offs.

D’Adesky’s strong leg as a soccer player stood out and he was recruited to join the Westminster football team as kicker during his sophomore year. He’s been juggling both sports since then.

“There’s about three weeks when the two sports overlap and it’s a bit crazy,” said d’Adesky. “I start out practicing with the football team and then run over to the soccer field to finish practice with the soccer team.”

Westminster football coach Joe Mira, who has coached the Warriors for five years, says d’Adesky is “an excellent student and among the top kickers in Miami- Dade County. He’s been a positive force on our football team.”

It is his kicking ability in football that d’Adesky hopes will land him a college scholarship. During his junior year at Westminster, he placed second-team All- State football and second-team All-Dade football. To date, he has never missed an extra point attempt and believes that his strength is definitely his accuracy.

Over the summer, d’Adesky attended five National Kicking Combine Series camps that offer kickers a unique opportunity to train and showcase their talents in front of top-notch college coaches and recruiters. D’Adesky placed in the top five at Harvard University, second at University of Alabama and University of Miami, tied for first place at Princeton University and won first place at Vanderbilt University.

“I placed well in these camps, which help open up the recruiting lines,” said d’Adesky. “Many college coaches are there standing on the sidelines with clipboards assessing each player’s performance. It’s a lot of pressure, just like kicking is in a game.”

Although a busy sports schedule leaves him with little time, d’Adesky has made time to help the people of Haiti after the devastating earthquake struck last January. D’Adesky’s father is Haitian-American and the family has 23 relatives who live in Haiti.

“The earthquake was a life changing event for our family,” said d’Adesky. “For two days after the earthquake, we did not know if our relatives had survived. Luckily, everyone in my family was safe.”

D’Adesky spearheaded a water drive at Westminster and partnered with Food for the Poor to get relief supplies to Haiti within a week after the earthquake. He volunteered at the University of Miami’s Project Medishare over the summer and his family donated six acres in Haiti that will be used to build a new Medishare Emergency Trauma/Training Center and Residence Complex in Port-au-Prince.

“I founded a non-profit organization with my three younger siblings and my cousin called Help Haiti Heal,” said d’Adesky. “We raised more than $3,000 and are donating $2,000 to Project Medishare and $1,000 to Food for the Poor. The relief effort in Haiti has been slow. There is still so much work to be done and the people of Haiti need all the help they can get.”

Ms. Eagleton,
Thank you so much for writing about Dylan! His dedication to help the people of Haiti is quite commendable.
We published a tease of your article on our Web site: http://www.foodforthepoor.org/newsroom/in-the-new…
Happy Holidays!
-Megan